[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 43 (Monday, October 29, 2001)]
[Pages 1547-1549]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at the Thurgood Marshall Extended Elementary School

October 25, 2001

    The President. Thank you all very much. Americans believe in 
patriotism. We don't believe in prejudice. We're determined to fight 
terror. That's what we're going to do. And we're equally determined to 
build ties of trust and friendship with people all around the world, 
particularly with children and people in the Islamic world.
    As you all know, our Nation is at war right now. We're going to 
defend America and defend the values that we all hold dear. And our 
Nation is united in the defense of our country. We are not at war with 
Muslims. We don't have a beef with Muslims. We want to be friends with 
Muslims and Muslim children.
    We're fighting evil people. It's important for the boys and girls of 
Thurgood Marshall to know that we're fighting evil with good. And one 
way to fight evil with good is, you can help by writing letters to boys 
and girls your age. You can let boys and girls know what you think are 
important. You can let boys and girls know what your dreams are, and ask 
them about theirs, too.
    I want to thank very much the Secretary of Education for being here 
with me. He's

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a fellow Texan who is doing a great job of running the Education 
Department. He helps herald our number one domestic agenda item, and 
that is making sure every boy and girl in America gets a good education.
    And he's right. We hope Congress gets the business done and gets us 
a good education bill. They're close; all they've got to do is work a 
little harder to get us a bill, one that I can sign. I'm confident they 
will do so with a little extra work.
    I want to thank very much the principal of this fine school. Ms. 
Wilson, thank you so much for your hospitality. And I want to thank all 
the teachers who are here, as well. It's really important for all of us 
to thank our teachers. And I wish the First Lady were here with me, 
because she could thank you, too. One of the things she's trying to do 
is go around the country reminding people what a noble profession 
teaching is, and we need more people to become teachers. But thank you 
all for being such good role models for your children here.
    I want to thank Paul Vance, as well. Gosh, it seems like I see Paul 
every other week. I appreciate your hard work. I want to thank the boys 
and girls of this school for letting me come by to say hello. It's been 
my honor to be able to come to Thurgood Marshall and to see all the 
future leaders of the country. I guess I don't need to ask; I'm sure all 
of you are going to be going to college, aren't you?
    Students. Yes.
    The President. Yes, that's good. I hope you read more than you watch 
TV, too. It's really important to be a good reader. But thanks for 
letting me come by.
    We're here talking about how we can best conduct a war against evil. 
And you can play a part. You can be an integral part of that by 
establishing friendship. And I want to thank some of the adults who have 
helped set up programs that enable boys and girls all across America to 
reach out to boys and girls all across the world.
    And one such person is Mary Eisenhower, who is the chief executive 
officer of a program called People to People. Thank you very much, Mary, 
for being here. She had a relative named Eisenhower, and he and I share 
something in common: We're both Presidents. And I appreciate you, Mary, 
for working here.
    And I also want to thank Ed Gragert, as well, the executive director 
of iEARN. iEARN is the umbrella organization that's encouraging 
organizations to help fund and organize the effort for our 
schoolchildren to reach out to children, particularly in the Muslim 
world. Thank you for coming, as well, Ed.
    And we've got Issa Al-Nashit from the country of Bahrain. Issa, 
thank you for coming so much. The reason he is here is that he 
represents a country to which you're sending letters. We were in the 
fourth grade class, and we had four letters read by fourth graders to 
fourth graders in Bahrain. And it's part of our effort to outreach to 
boys and girls all across the world. So I want to thank you for coming, 
Issa.
    I'm looking forward to meeting with the Crown Prince of Bahrain this 
afternoon. It is a perfect opportunity for me to remind him that, one, 
we appreciate the alliances we're forming around the world with Muslim 
nations and non-Muslim nations. And we also remind him that we've all 
got to work hard to make sure we establish trust at the most basic 
level, and that's people to people.
    And so today I'm here to announce a new initiative called Friendship 
Through Education. And we're going to ask schools all across the country 
to join with schools in other countries to spread the message that we 
care for each other, that we want to understand each other better.
    I think the best way to attack--to handle the attacks of September 
the 11th is to fight fear with friendship, is to fight fear with hope, 
is to remind people all around the world we have much more in common 
than people might think, that we share basic values--the importance of 
family and the importance of faith and the importance of friendship.
    And do you know something? Boys and girls all across America can do 
that job pretty darn well. And so I'm asking schools all across the 
country to join up. And I want to thank you for actively recruiting 
schools. We've got St. Patrick Elementary School in Arlington, Virginia, 
is helping. Mott Hall School in New York City has joined up, as

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has, of course, Thurgood Marshall here in Washington, DC.
    The students here and students all across our country witnessed a 
terrible tragedy. It is a terrible moment in our country, and it's got 
to have affected a lot of our students in a way where they ask the 
question, ``Why would this have happened to America? Why would somebody 
do this to our country?'' And I want to assure the boys and girls, these 
attacks didn't come from a nation or a religion. These attacks are from 
some people who just are so evil it's hard for me to describe why. It's 
hard for us to comprehend why somebody would think the way they think 
and devalue life they way they devalue and to harm innocent people the 
way they harmed innocent people. It's just hard for all of us adults to 
explain.
    But what we can do is, we can find common ground with others who 
wonder about America. We can prove them wrong by acting in a way that's 
good. We can show the world what a great, compassionate, and decent 
nation America is. I can do that through diplomacy. I can do that 
through our actions, through the alliances we form. But children all 
across America can do it, as well--can do it through letters and e-mails 
and pictures and drawings, and reaching out to boys and girls.
    I thought it was really interesting, the letters that I heard today. 
Every letter said, ``Would you write me back? Would you share with me 
your experiences so I can understand you better?'' And that's exactly 
the spirit of the program and the initiative we're announcing, and it 
makes a lot of sense.
    It is very important for us to combat evil with understanding. It's 
very important for us reinforce our message in all ways possible to the 
people in the Islamic world that we don't hold you accountable for what 
took place. As a matter of fact, we want to be friends. The average 
citizen in America harbors no ill will toward you. As a matter of fact, 
the average citizen in America would like to do everything we can to 
explain what our country is about, to explain what our future is about. 
And this is a great way to do this, in my judgment.
    And so we're going to work hard to encourage other schools, other 
principals to sign up, other boys and girls to write letters. And one 
way that people who are interested in participating can do, they can 
call up on a Web site to find out how to participate. And I'd like to 
give the address of the Web site: It is 
www.friendshipthrougheducation.org; it is 
www.friendshipthrougheducation.org. And that's a way for other 
principals and parents and concerned citizens to participate in this 
outreach.
    Rod Paige mentioned the fact that we've got a--we've asked boys and 
girls all across America to contribute a dollar to help feed and provide 
medicine for Afghan children who are suffering. The response has been 
great, and I can't thank the boys and girls of America enough. That's 
one initiative. The initiative we're announcing today is a second 
initiative, all to send a message about the goodness and decency of our 
great country.
    I want the boys and girls to know that the action that we're taking 
in our Government is all aimed to make sure that you can grow up in a 
free country. The military action, the diplomatic action, the 
intelligence-gathering, what you read and hear on the TV and newspapers 
has got one goal, and that's to make sure you can live in freedom in our 
great land.
    And so thank you for giving me a chance to come by to thank you for 
your hard work. May God bless you all, and may God bless America.

Note: The President spoke at 11:12 a.m. in the auditorium of the school. 
In his remarks, he referred to Eugene Pair and Eileen Wilson, 
principals, Thurgood Marshal Extended Elementary School; Paul L. Vance, 
superintendent, District of Columbia Public Schools; and Issa Al-Nashit, 
cultural attache, and Crown Prince Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa of 
Bahrain.